18 June 2002
Edition 1.2
A: The Sevier River Water Users Association consists of two river commissioners (state employees under the Utah Division of Water Rights), along with canal companies which are operated out of the homes of their managers, and the employees (i.e. ditch riders, water masters) who are seasonal. Essentially the SRWUA manages and regulates the release of water into canals and other water systems in the Sevier River Basin.
A: The Sevier River is located in the southern part of Utah (United States). The river has two distinct head waters. Mammoth Creek orginates near Cedar Breaks National Monument and empties into the south fork of the river, just south of Bryce Canyon National Park. The East Fork of the Sevier (the other main head water) originates in the Fishlake National Forest, which is north of Otter Creek State Park. The basin covers a large area. The Sevier River flows through Garfield, Piute, Sevier, San Pete, Juab, and finally Millard counties. The basin also covers very small areas of Beaver, Kane, Iron, and Tooele counties.
A: There are many data collection stations along the river and at the reservoirs. Each station is equiped with sensors that measure various parameters (i.e. voltage, river flow, temperature). The data is recorded by a commercial datalogger (CR-10 from Campbell Scientific). Some of the stream flow data comes from stations operated by the USGS (United States Geological Survey). Snow pack data is measured at stations operated by the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service).
A: Most data is gathered once every hour. Some data, such as images from the cameras, are collected as often as once every 10 minutes.
A: Each station is equiped with sensors that measure various parameters (i.e. voltage, river flow, temperature). The data is recorded by a commercial datalogger (CR-10 from Campbell Scientific). Once an hour real-time data is transferred to the datahut via VHF radio, 900 MHz spread spectrum radio, over the Internet, via land-line telephone, or by cell-phone, where it is stored in a database. Each time you click on the web page, the code for the page instructs the web server to go and find the most recent data. Your browser then displays all the information on a web page.
The USGS stream flow data travels via satelite link and the NRCS SNOTEL data uses a radio transmission system called "meteorburst".
A: The canal gates can be programmed to maintain a certain flow out of the reservoir. In addition, the "station" is equiped with a VHS radio and telephone equipment that is used to transmit the data to the server. These, however, are two-way devices, meaning that with the correct "login" someone can call the station and reset the parameters, such as the gate height or river flow. The sensors tell the program when the gate is meeting the new specifications.
A: The web server is an Apache-powered web server, run on a Red-Hat Linux system. In addition, the server stores data in a MySQL database. The code for the site is written using mostly PHP mixed with HTML. Some features are made available using scripts written in Perl.
A: The site is constantly updating, adding, and changing. As technology improves and the users needs change, the site evolves to try and meet these needs. Sometimes files get re-named and/or moved. If you are having trouble finding a page try using the "SiteMap" under the "About" link at the top of each page. If you still can't find the page you are looking for, post a note on the "WebSite Comments Forum".
A: Our system description gives a great overview of the basin and how the site works. It gives more detailed explanations of the system components and where the site is looking to go in the future.
Other sources of information that may be helpful are found under our "Presentations" Link. This page contains links to papers and slide shows presented in the past about the Sevier River Basin and the automation process and equipment.
A: If you've found an error or a page is not working, PLEASE report the problem to <bret@stoneflytech.com>. You can also post the problem on the Web Site Comments Forum.